I Will Not Go Quietly
by RealityPilot
Summary: Jaune Arc does not have much of an aura to call his own and is met with the reality that no matter what he does, or which path he takes, his life will not be a long one. Nonetheless, he endeavors to persevere, dedicating himself to the path of finesse and helping the people of Remnant. For an Arc never gives up, especially in the face of a threat only he has the ability to defeat.
1. Foundation

**I Will Not Go Quietly**

 **Summary: Jaune Arc does not have much of an aura to call his own. In fact, you might say he's just about as well off as every other helpless civilian in Remnant. If any life had been set to "Impossible Mode" from the start, it would be his.**

 **Nonetheless, Jaune Arc endeavors to persevere, dedicating himself to the path of finesse—to perfecting his skills to the point of being art.**

 **He may be the weakest. He may be practically helpless.**

 **But an Arc never gives up, especially in the face of a threat that only he has the ability to defeat.**

Chapter 1: Foundation

It was impossible not to be nervous under the intense pressure of Glynda Goodwitch's gaze. Her assessment carried enough weight to keep him barred from ever becoming a huntsman at any Huntsman Academy. Her word meant that much. If you weren't up to snuff, she wouldn't hesitate to discard you like so many other prospective huntsman and their dreams. It wasn't that she didn't care about them, but rather that she had come to believe that every huntsman she made that died later on because they simply didn't have what it took was her responsibility.

Their deaths were on her head, as morbid as that was.

"Mr. Arc," she began with a light intonation. "I see that you have applied to become a huntsman at our academy." She paused to look up at the gangly looking boy sitting across from her through her oval spectacles.

Jaune Arc cleared his throat as his hands came together nervously on his lap. "That is correct, ma'am."

She read on. "You have scored consistently well according to your homeschooling records. It says here that you were trained by your father and an… associate of his, the gunsmith Cortland Andrus. Instructed in Atlesian hand-to-hand, the ancient art of… Aikido?"

"It's a martial art for using an opponent's momentum against them." Jaune explained. "It's been a steeple of Cort's line for a while. But he never had any children of his own, so he taught it to me."

Goodwitch nodded and gave him a small smile. She was impressed if what the kid had said was true. Rare and ancient techniques such as this "Aikido" would serve a young man like himself well against more powerful opponents. "Mr. Andrus also taught you what is referred to here as 'gun arts.'"

At this, she gave him an expectant look.

"Please understand," he started uneasily, "I can't tell you what 'gun arts' is beyond that Cort taught me how to shoot well." _Among other things,_ he added to himself.

"How well?"

"Very," Jaune answered vaguely. "I really can't say more than that."

Not exactly satisfied with his answer, Goodwitch leaned back into her seat and decided it was best to just move on. "Your weapons of choice are called, ' _David and Goliath_.'" She paused, letting the names settle in her head. She had heard the names before—she was sure of it—but couldn't recall from what. Some old legend, perhaps? She'd have to talk to Oobleck later. "The first is a high-capacity semi-automatic dust pistol and the other is a double edged… _falcata_ short sword with a Schnee series IV direct injection apparatus." Her eyebrows went up and she looked back up at him, an amused glint in her eyes. "May I see them?"

"Sure." Jaune held up his left arm and gripped the elongated sickle-like handle of what Goodwitch had initially appraised as a mere holdout dagger. She soon witnessed firsthand how wrong she had been as the dagger that emerged split into shards of midnight silver and obsidian black and began to shift, quickly rearranging itself to form a blade that stood 22 inches, slightly curved, and utterly possessed by this menacing dark allure she couldn't place.

She had no doubt that this was _Goliath._ A giant in presence alone.

Jaune laid the blade gently on the table before her awestruck eyes and then reached down to grab the handle of the pistol strapped to his left thigh. As Goodwitch reached for _Goliath_ , she started as it suddenly occurred to her that Jaune kept both of his weapons on his left side. She assumed that this would lead to issues with balance, which might render his whole combat tactic moot. After all, how could he hope to control his opponent if he couldn't control himself?

And yet when he had entered her office, his steps had been so even and sure—so precise. There was little doubt that he used his weapons as a complimentary set. But how was it that he could maintain such a steady equilibrium when his center of balance was shifted slightly to the right?

 _It's light!_ Her mind exclaimed as she picked the blade up. It couldn't have weighed more than two pounds. _If the blade starts out as a dagger,_ she reasoned, _and then expands…_ "Is this..?"

"Yes," the boy answered for her rather nonchalantly, " _David_ is a hollow sword."

She examined the hollow blade in astonishment. _It's all a front?_ Its appearance and edge were a mere intimidation tactic? No, that couldn't be. The sword had a dust injection system. It had to have some offensive purpose. Why would you go out of your way to make a blade so light? Without the weight…

Goodwitch held _David_ up to the light, took but one experimental swing, and knew.

Its edges were so keen and the frame of its body so light and smooth that it didn't just move through the air, it _flowed_ without the slightest hitch of resistance. "It's a real work of art," she remarked. "Did you make it yourself?"

"No," he laughed, dispersing her assumption with a humorous wave. "No. I did not make it. Cort did. Though don't tell anyone that," he added quickly. "He really doesn't like to make swords."

"I wonder why," she thought aloud as she handed the blade back to him with a practiced motion. If the man could produce such weapons, why not exercise such talent in addition to being one of the most renowned gunsmiths in Remnant? Perhaps it was passion? Maybe the old man took no pride in being a swordsmith. She could understand that. It wasn't like she enjoyed the auxiliary duties of her own job. Though she had to admit, she was very good at putting broken things back together.

As she was consumed by her ruminations, she didn't notice Jaune's mouth bend down into a knowing frown until just after it was replaced with a more neutral expression.

Goodwitch cleared her throat, mentally chastising herself for getting distracted. She only had so much time to perform each of these applicant reviews. A quick glance toward the clock above the door told her that she had less than ten minutes to finish up this one before the next was scheduled to begin. Though she was loathe to rush this review in particular given how interesting it had been.

"Please give my regards to Mr. Andrus if you should ever have the chance," she implored him. "His sword build quality alone is among the best I have ever seen."

"You say that, but you have yet to look at _Goliath_." He teased confidently.

She almost took his suggestion, but thought better. "Perhaps some other time, Mr. Arc. We should move on now. There is still quite a lot for us to go over."

"Suit yourself," the boy pouted, though his eyes gleamed playfully.

And so Jaune holstered his vaunted pistol and they moved on. The two went back and forth about the life he had led up until then. They discussed his family, most notably his sisters as none of the ones that had gone down the path of becoming a huntsman had ever applied to Beacon. In fact, all of them had gone to the militarized Atlas Huntsman Academy. When asked as to why he did not apply there himself, Jaune told her that he wouldn't be able to do as much good if he consigned himself to the Atlas military and didn't elaborate any further.

Much of the rest of their discussion went the same way. Jaune seemed inclined to only give half answers to what were simple questions about his own life. This frustrated Goodwitch to no end, especially since the boy had seemed so forward earlier. She wondered what it was about himself that he was trying to conceal from her and occasionally launched into quick follow-up questions in hopes of catching him off-guard.

None of her attempts succeeded. Jaune had turned out to be quite well-practiced in the art of dodging questions. He always answered her probing remarks with a wordy response that seemed to tell her something and nothing at the same time. As it became abundantly clear that he was not willing to share certain aspects of his life, Goodwitch eventually gave up. She asked her questions, noted his responses, and moved on. If Jaune wanted to be so short with her then she didn't have to accept him into her academy. It was as simple as that.

"It says here that you have an aura capacity of 37 AMU," she said in the plain, disinterested cadence that had come over her. Then she paused and did a double take as she re-read the number.

 _37!?_

 _This has to be some mistake_ , she thought. But when she looked back up at the boy, unnaturally pale and unable to meet her eyes, she knew it to be the truth.

Jaune Arc had an aura capacity that was about one-three-hundredth of that of the average huntsman and his semblance was…

 _What the Hell is this!?_

"What is this, Jaune!? Why are you even here? If I were to let you in, there is little doubt that you would be killed either by another student or the Grimm in even the most basic of combat exercises we employ here. And then there's the matter of you wanting to be a huntsman in spite of your blatant weakness in the first place. Why get all this training? Why would your father and Mr. Andrus invest so much time and effort into you if only to set you down this path of self-destruction?

"Tell me!" she demanded.

Jaune sucked in a breath and composed himself. "It's simple," he began somberly and then met her emerald eyes with his own. There was a deep sadness and a morbid sense of acceptance in the pools of sapphire blue that burned within them.

"I am not long for this world..."

Glynda's breath hitched in her throat.

His voice was one she had heard more than once before.

It was that of a man who had long ago made peace with the imminence of his own death.

 **A/N: Next update, Chapter 2: Initiation, slated for mid-February. PM if you have any questions about the story. Review, favorite, and/or follow the story or myself if you like it. Chapters will generally be longer than this, given that I tend to write detailed action scenes.**

 **Any Crossover-seeming elements are Easter Eggs for your enjoyment.**

 **Unlike other stories, Jaune will not have an overpowered semblance. In fact, the one that I have given him somewhat matches up with what might be the one he has in canon, with some caveats.**

 **Team selection is somewhat randomized. You will not be seeing RWBY and JNPR in this fic. Expect the story to remain tied enough to canon with some side stories in between that would make sense within the original narrative.**

 **There is a pairing, but it shall remain a surprise for some time.**

 **For Your Reference:**

 **AMU = Aura Mass Units**

Short Teaser:

Introductions abound as Jaune meets his fellow huntsman, a majority of which seem to be cute girls that remind him of some of his sisters. The next day, he finds himself flung literally into the Grimm Emerald Forest where he meets his partner for the next four years along with his two other teammates.

A peculiar match never seen before will appear here.


	2. First Impressions

**_I do not aim with my hand;_**

 ** _He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father._**

 ** _I aim with my eye._**

 ** _-Verse 1 of the Gunslinger's Oath_**

* * *

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Jaune popped a Dramamine pill into his mouth and swallowed it dry. Beacon sat upon quite the mountain and when a Bullhead had taken him to it for his review, he had been… unprepared. Luckily, it had only been him along with some transferring staff and not any of his fellow students. Although he knew this time would be different. The scroll message Goodwitch had sent him said that there was to be only two air ship shuttles and that he was assigned to the second for the afternoon.

As he looked over the outdated vessel with disgust at how un-aerodynamic it was, Jaune decided to pop another pill for good measure. First impressions were very important, or so his father and sisters had told him, though at the moment he was more concerned with keeping the contents of his stomach inside than anything else.

He climbed into the craft via the stairwell near the back wing pair. In the cabin, which was dumbly devoid of anywhere to sit and left utterly open with large, glaring windows, a few kids his age milled about to themselves for the most part. The only pairs were that of some red headed girl with a flamboyant personality and a boy with black locks that ended in pinkish highlights who seemed to be her opposite—quiet and reserved. A petite girl dressed in red and black who was without a doubt younger than everyone else stood by a busty, rambunctious sounding blonde woman with lilac eyes that promised danger.

Jaune steered away from them all for now and instead made his way to the fringes where a lone girl with raven black hair sat curled up against the wall with a book resting open on her knees. He figured she was probably shy, which complemented him in a way because Jaune did not know many people outside of his family and Cort. After his aura had been unlocked and his semblance discovered, Jaune had been forced to leave school and isolate himself from his friends at the time so that he could train in earnest.

 _What better way was there to get back into the swing of things,_ he figured, _than to start with some like-minded individual?_

"Hi," he greeted her. He waited awkwardly for her to acknowledge him for about a minute, and when she didn't he tried again. "Hey, uh, I'm Jaune. I see you're… reading there."

 _Holy shit, I'm rusty._

Amber orbs slid up to look at him for a moment and promptly returned to scanning the pages of the book. "Hi."

 _Well, at least she said something this time,_ Jaune sighed. "What's your name?"

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance and she paid him a sharp glance, "Blake."

"That's cool," Jaune replied, refusing to allow himself to be deterred. "I'm Jaune."

"I got that."

"That's… good." He said edgily. He stood there at a loss of what to say next until his eyes lit up in realization. "That means we're not strangers anymore, doesn't it?"

"Sure. Whatever." _Please just leave me alone,_ Blake thought. _Let me be so I can read in the peace and quiet you ruined._

"Well, since we're not strangers…" he trailed off and proceeded to sit down next to her.

Blake sunk her forehead into her book. _Why does this always have to happen to me?_

"You know, I used to read a lot myself," the blonde, man-child looking boy told her after a while. "Fantasy and adventure mostly. Couldn't really ever get into anything else. But ever since… well, I've read a lot of historical and technical volumes. _The Bestiary_ _of Old and New_ is the closest I get to it these days."

Blake became suddenly still, a coldness setting in her bones as she noted his meaningful tone. _He knew. Somehow he knew what she was._

"You don't have anything to worry about. Really." Jaune assured her, pained by the helpless expression that had fallen upon her face. "I'm of the mind that if we saw past what sub-species we all happen to be, there wouldn't be such a thing as racism. I mean, in the end it's all kind of…"

"Petty," she answered sharply.

"Yeah."

"Especially with the Grimm out there," she went on. "It's so unneeded and yet… it _is._ "

"Yeah," he whispered, glancing back at the report on the screen in the middle of the cabin droning on about the White Fang and another one of its violent acts of retribution.

A companionable silence stretched on for about five minutes, during which time the airship took off with a lurch and started towards Beacon, passing by Signal Academy along the way. Few of the inhabitants who happened to be alumni gathered by the window to pay the school their regards.

"Friends." Blake blurted suddenly.

"What?"

"We can be friends," she said with a little smile that bespoke an unfathomable amount of relief.

Jaune gave her a toothy grin. "Well all—"

"And you can sit there," she added, cutting him off. "Quietly."

He sighed and rested his back flush against the wall. "Okay."

It was this way that they rode on the rest of the way to Beacon and even though Jaune was disappointed that the trip was not filled with more conversation, he found that he quite enjoyed spending the solitude of the silence with his new friend.

* * *

The airship couldn't have landed soon enough. Motion sickness remedy or not, Jaune absolutely hated flying, much like he supposed his new friend probably hated dogs. It was the sort of thing that was biologically ingrained into you.

 _It's just… unnatural._ He thought with a scowl as he stepped off the ramp and onto solid ground. Blake, who had been following closely behind him had noticed his shaky legs and slouched body, but had elected not to comment. The act of pointing out the obvious was something that she really detested, as it was generally a sign that present company lacked the capacity to put two and two together and get four. Besides, the reason she had been keeping an eye on him had been for the sake of caution, not curiosity. Jaune had spoken as if her being a faunus was no big deal to him, but what proof was there of that besides his present demeanor?

 _Trust, but verify._ She repeated in her head. _Never make the same mistake again._

Many of the huntsman around them _ooh'd_ and _aww'd_ at the sight of Beacon Academy, and for good reason. It was indeed a sight to behold. The walk that led up to the school was composed of smooth cobblestone that looked to be immaculately taken care of, given that there were absolutely no signs of plant erosion anywhere in spite of its age. Giant Gothic style lamps loomed overhead every few paces until the walk diverged around an ornate fountain with a stone statue depicting two old heroes of Vale at its center, standing resolute above the onslaught of the creatures of Grimm. Beyond was the main tower of Beacon, an utterly massive construct that stretched into the clouds above.

It had all looked eerily foreboding when he had come upon the tower in the eve. But now… Jaune could understand why Beacon was considered to be among the greatest bastions of civilization. The tower had sat atop this mountain for time immemorial, and it would likely remain here for a long time to come. A shining light—a Beacon of hope—to illuminate the way through the darkness.

"What are you doing!?"

 _Huh?_

Jaune and Blake turned to see a petite girl in a regal white getup dressing down the youngster in red he had noticed earlier. A bunch of small metal cases lay strewn about and a luggage trolley lay overturned with red girl's back leaned against it.

"Ugh," the girl on the ground groaned. "Sorry!"

White's arctic eyes narrowed as she put her hand authoritatively on her hip. "Sorry!? Do you have any idea of the _damage_ you could have caused?"

Red winced. This white demon's voice reached octaves that might have made a concert singer envious. "Uh…" she started, helpfully reaching over to hand over a case. Anything to stop the screaming.

"Give me that!"

 _Of course it didn't work!_ Red lamented as the case was snatched from her hands. _Could the world at least stop spinning?_

"This is dust!" White proclaimed. "Mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry."

"Uh…" _Why does she sound oddly proud?_

"What are you? Braindead?" White egged on, pulling out a red vial and using it to punctuate each of the words to follow. "Dust! Fire! Water! Lightning! Energy!" she finished with a broad wave, wafting dust specks towards Red. "Are you even listening to me!?"

Red's eyes crossed and she started to make nasal sounds as she vainly held back the inevitable.

"Is any of this sinking in?" White continued—oblivious. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well… uh… ahhhch—"

 **—OOM!**

Jaune fought back the kneejerk reaction that Cort had drilled into him, forcing his hands from reaching for his weapons. _There is no danger here_ , he coaxed himself, even as the vial of fire dust rolled on its side toward him and Blake, who casually stepped forward to stop it underfoot.

Blake indifferently picked up the vial without turning from her book and flashed a look of distain at White, who had been coated in a thin layer of ash and looked none too pleased about it.

"Unbelievable!" White shrieked. She spared a short moment to stomp the clumps off her shoes and brush her dress off. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about."

Red's face was crestfallen as she nervously pressed the tips of her fingers together again and again. "I'm really, really, sorry."

"You complete dolt! What are you even doing here?"

At this, Jaune shot Blake a look, _are you just waiting for some moment to insert yourself here?_ Of course, she had been too busy turning the vial about in her hand to notice. Jaune shook his head as White belittled Red for her young age and insinuated that she was too naïve and stupid to understand the sort of academy Beacon was—all the while not letting the girl get a word in edgewise.

 _This has gone on long enough._

Jaune made his approach at a brisk, almost rhythmic pace, his countenance shifting into a scowl as he recalled one of the many lessons Cort had drilled into him about conflict resolution.

 _Jaune,_ the old man's gruff voice came to him. _Not all situations—fate willing—need violence to be resolved justly as not all men are our enemy. While it is important that you always recognize the inherent danger that all men pose to yourself, as each possess the potential within them to kill, you must also never lose sight that man is a thinking, reasoning being._

 _It is for this reason that your mind and your tongue must be as sure as your aim._

"Hey!" he shouted when he had neared enough that neither could deny his presence. Not that he really had to, as his bellowing voice drew the attention of many in the vicinity. His method proved itself more than effective as the girls each quieted, stilled, and, like deer in headlights, gradually turned his way. "Enough!"

"She... she ran right into my cart!" White rushed to accuse.

"Accidentally!" Red shot back. "I didn't mean it. I said I was sorry."

Jaune massaged the bridge of his nose in apparent agitation. "Didn't either of you hear me?" he fumed. "I didn't ask what happened. I said… ' _Enough_!'"

"A-and..?" White paused as it occurred to her that this mere boy didn't actually seem to be any older than herself and that even if he was, his seniority over her was hardly something that she was inclined to recognize. Anyone could be older and more experienced than her, but she was a Schnee.

She was smarter _him._

She was smarter than _all of them_.

"Who are you to tell _me_ —Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company—what to do?" she questioned him with a confidence reborn.

"Jaune Arc," he replied immediately, giving no sign that her name and title had concerned him at all. "I'm the guy that's supposed to remind you that the commencement speech is supposed to start in oh…" He made a show of looking underneath his sleeve where there wasn't anything but the bare skin of his wrist. "About three minutes."

Weiss was aghast. That left hardly any time to get to the amphitheater, let alone store her coveted dust supplies somewhere safe. "I, uh…" she stammered as she quickly set about picking up the cases herself and stacking them on the luggage trolley her servant had reset.

"Thanks for the reminder," she said with a wan smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "I'd best get going."

"M-me too!" the girl in red eventually burst out long after Weiss had gone. She made to rush for the entrance to Beacon tower, but something held her back. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the tall boy, Jaune, holding her by the scruff of her cloak.

He smiled warmly at her and her face flushed a deep red.

"It's okay," he reassured her softly as he let her go. "There's still plenty of time. We just couldn't stand and watch that girl pick on you like that."

"We?" Red asked—confused. _Who was this 'we?'_ There wasn't anyone else around them.

"Yeah, we. Hey Blake!" He turned to call to her again, only to see her backside strutting away in the distance.

 _What,_ he thought as he sneered openly at her back, _did I ruin your moment?_

"Ahhh…" he sighed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm… sorry about her. She's…"

 _Shy? Not a people person? Secretly a faunus?_

"…secretly… not as shy as she lets on."

 _Nice save._

"Oh, well I guess I can understand that," the girl told him earnestly.

Jaune could only find it in himself nod numbly in response, ashamed he had nearly exposed his friend so soon.

She gave him a cute reassuring smile of her own and held out her hand. "I'm Ruby."

"Jaune Arc."

Their eyes met as their hands clasped and shook firmly.

 _They're silver... How odd._

"It's nice to meet you," they both said at the same time and then shared a mirthful laugh.

* * *

"So…" Jaune started anxiously as they rounded the statue, "not to be barking up the same tree 'the Heiress' was," he air quoted with an exaggerated flair. "But I can't help being curious."

"Oh? About what?" Ruby twirled demurely in the shine of the mid-day sun, her skirt fluttering in the light wind.

She looked so… innocent to Jaune, just like how he remembered his younger sisters April and Katrina had been.

Naïve, but abundantly kind.

It had been a long time since he had been able to see that spark of childhood innocence in their eyes. Not that he had any business reminiscing about that, especially since he had been the cause of its ruin.

 _How could I have ever expected them to keep smiling when they know it's only a matter of time until I die?_

Jaune stopped suddenly and it took a couple steps for Ruby to notice and stop herself.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

"I'm okay. It's just…" He trailed off and shook his head. "It's nothing. I was wondering why you were here, but…" His gaze swept past the statue and then returned to the heroes. "I think I got my answer."

Ruby frowned dubiously. _So this is how it's always going to go…_ Everyone here was going to misunderstand and belittle her for being younger. For getting into the Academy so early. Even her new friend couldn't find it in himself to face her when he said such things.

 _What is he..?_

She followed his eyes back to the stone cast of the heroes and the world stopped.

 _Oh._

Ruby let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as something clicked in her head.

 _He understands._

Without her having to explain herself or prove herself to him, Jaune had understood and accepted her so easily. _And_ , her thoughts continued as color seemed to return to the world, _if he could do that, so could others._

Meanwhile, Jaune turned back to the girl and began memorizing the lines of her face. He knew it was only a matter of time before her light was snuffed out like all the others, but even still he resolved to protect that innocence and that pure smile with all he was.

It was yet another unnecessary responsibility he would hoist upon himself—not that it mattered to him. He would take it all on. He would accept all of the burdens of the world if it came to it. After all, it wasn't like his life meant much in the general scheme of things.

Not yet, at least. But here… Here he could at least make it count.

That was all he wanted.

To dare to hope for anything more was to tempt fate.

Jaune started toward Beacon, a subtle downward shift in his gait the only sign of his true emotions. "Come on," he beckoned, lightly tapping Ruby's shoulder as he passed. "We should get going."

"Okay," she replied, quickly coming to his side.

 _Maybe Yang's right,_ the girl thought, sneaking a sideways glance at Jaune as they walked the rest of the way to Beacon tower together.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad._

* * *

"Ruby! Over here!" a voice called over all the others.

Jaune and Ruby scanned through the crowd and easily spotted her sister Yang. She was standing in the middle of a small clearing that had somehow manifested despite how packed the wide room was. Jaune was quick to notice that this girl also happened to be the dangerous one he had marked on the airship. It seemed that the students around her had made similar inferences as they shied away at a respectable distance and seemed to glance warily in her direction whenever she got particularly rowdy.

Like now.

"I saved you a spot!" she waved.

Ruby pulled on his arm, drawing his attention to her. "Oh! I got to go."

"Sure," he nodded, figuring he'd just find Blake and question her about earlier. It was also probably better that Ruby spend time with her actual friends anyway.

"I'll see you after the ceremony!" she called back before utterly disappearing into the crowd.

"Yeah…" Jaune exhaled, already feeling alone.

After a longing glance in Ruby's direction, Jaune began taking tentative steps into the mass of people the opposite way, falling back on his evasive training to weave through the dynamic sea of obstacles he found himself in. He took extra care to avoid touching any of the girls when he did have to brush people aside to make his own way.

Where that was, he didn't know. He had used the excuse of looking for Blake to justify his actions, but the truth was something more along the lines of him just not wanting to be that guy standing awkwardly by himself in the back of the room.

Jaune didn't need any more reminders of how little he belonged here.

He was so focused on trying to forget that fact that he missed the red headed gladiatrix eyeing him from afar. Her sharp emerald eyes sparkled with interest and if you looked very closely at them as they dulled an instant later when he faded from her sight, you might have been able to see a kindling of hope begin to catch light.

* * *

The first familiar face Jaune ran into was not altogether a welcome one.

"You…" she seethed, fingers clenching into tight little fists at her sides. Weiss might have looked cute… if she'd been pouting and not looking royally pissed enough to order his execution at any second.

"Me." He deadpanned as he internally facepalmed.

 _Of all the people…_

Her knuckles quickly turned as white as her hair as all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her face. "You—you lied to me!"

"You got here on time…" he yawned. "Didn't you?"

"That's not the point!" Weiss cried shrilly and winced at how she sounded. Pathetic—like the weak submissive girl her father wanted her to be. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. When she spoke again, her voice was level and cold.

"There were fifteen minutes. I could have spent that time getting acquainted with the school. Maybe meet some of my future classmates. Instead I rushed to put my belongings someplace safe for no apparent reason. Everyone who saw me kept giving me these weird looks. I even ignored some people who called me out _by name._ "

She examined his face for any sign of expression and when there wasn't any, she stuck a finger in his chest and briefly considered creating two repulsion glyphs on either side of his body.

"You humiliated me, Jaune Arc. Don't expect me forget that any time soon."

With that, she stormed off, leaving Jaune alone again along with another all too familiar feeling.

 _Guilt._

"Ahem," the man on the stage cleared his throat, causing the flat-faced microphone to let out a grating feedback screech that drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Jaune recognized the man immediately to be Ozpin, the esteemed Headmaster of Beacon Academy. He was a tallish man of fair complexion with jagged silver hair and inquisitive brown eyes that looked over a pair of shaded small round glasses. The dark button down jacket her wore stopped just above his thighs and was left casually open, showing a black vest underneath bound together by a set of ornate golden buttons. Around his neck was a forest green ascot emblazoned with a silver cross that had a pearl of obsidian inset at its heart.

When he spoke he had the air of a wise, straight-speaking man of great experience… if said man were also totally preoccupied with something else.

"I'll… keep this brief:

"You have travelled here today in search of knowledge—to hone your craft and acquire new skills and when you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people.

"But I look amongst you," Ozpin continued, his gaze sweeping across the room until it fell meaningfully upon Jaune, "and all I see is wasted energy: a need for purpose—direction.

"You assume that knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far.

"It is up to you to take the first step."

A stream of whispers quietly erupted around Jaune as Ozpin stepped back from the microphone and exited stage right with the help of his cane. Goodwitch, who had gotten onto the stage at some point during Ozpin's speech, promptly took his place.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," she said plainly, hands clasped behind her back. "Tomorrow, your Initiation begins…

" _Be ready._

"You're dismissed."

Jaune stood numbly looking at the stage as everyone else began to file out of the room, wondering what Ozpin had meant. Did he really think that all of Jaune's effort was for nothing if his purpose was so single-minded and generic?

Jaune felt his scroll vibrate in his thigh pocket. He slid it out and the screen woke when he held it up, showing a message from Goodwitch. He opened it.

 _Jaune,_

 _Ozpin wants to speak with you privately in his office. Go out the back of the amphitheater and left down the corridor. There's an elevator to his office at the end of it._

 _If anyone asks where you are going, tell them nothing._

 _-Goodwitch._

Jaune didn't reply as he noticed the message had a DNR tag and slid his scroll back into his pocket with a weighty sigh.

He had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy this.

* * *

"Have a seat, Mr. Arc," Ozpin gestured in a matter that was far more businesslike than cordial.

Jaune sat—mouth shut—not finding any words ready at hand that were particularly inspiring of any confidence in him whatsoever.

What was there to say? That he trained really hard? That this was what he wanted to do with his life? That being a huntsman was all he really knew anymore?

He needed this man on his side if he was to succeed here, but such a thing was beginning to look more and more like some distant reality.

"Headmaster Ozpin," he eventually choked out. "I'm here because—"

"Of a dream," Ozpin interrupted, his voice dark and condemning. "A foolish dream. Glynda told me that you have decided to come to my school because you believe 'you can do the most good here.'" He paraphrased with a somewhat exaggerated flair. "But that's not the truth, is it?"

Jaune might as well have blurted out how he felt at that moment for all the good his efforts at concealing his emotions did under the Headmaster's intense scrutiny.

"No," Ozpin frowned, only sounding mildly disappointed. "I didn't think so."

At Ozpin's side, Glynda felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. She quickly buried it. If Jaune really had lied and manipulated her into becoming an accomplice of his death wish, then he deserved everything Ozpin seemed to have in store for him and more.

Ozpin leaned forward, clasping his hands together atop his desk. "Well? What's the real reason, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune paid a contrite glance Glynda's way, "I was desperate."

"That much is rather obvious," Ozpin remarked.

Jaune grit his teeth, his guilt and feelings of helplessness rapidly giving way to an old frustration.

"I couldn't go anywhere else!

"Not Atlas. Not with my sisters there, and not with its main precepts coming from such a militaristic influence.

"Not Haven. The school and society of Mistral are overwhelmingly motivated by entirely corporate interests. Those who graduate from there are more mercenary than huntsman.

"Not Shade. Vacuo is little more than a wasteland now. Its people desperate, hungry, and hunted by the Grimm across the continent. I thought about going there, seeing how there's so much good that can be done. I visited a settlement and…"

Scenes from a memory Jaune would rather forget came unbidden to his mind and he recoiled from them as if struck.

"Let's just say that you can't help people who don't want to be helped," he breathed, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Beacon was the only Academy that even remotely met my needs," he went on. "Loosely governed and relatively small. Involved all over Remnant, regardless of any sociopolitical influence.

"You're right, Ozpin. I didn't come here because I believed I could do the most good here. I am painfully aware of how limited my capacity for meaningful action is.

"I came here because the ideals of this school happen to align with my own.

"Is that so wrong?"

All were silent in the wake of Jaune's verbal tirade. Even the gears that perpetually shifted as one in the walls and ceiling seemed to still.

Jaune shot Ozpin a reproachful look and stood up.

"No. It isn't." Ozpin finally said as Jaune turned to go. "But that doesn't mean you are right in this. You've trained enough to defend yourself from most singular threats, so there's no actual need for you to become a huntsman in order achieve whatever sense of fulfillment you seek.

"You could have a life, Jaune." He pled to the boy. "What you've chosen here isn't one. It's the farthest thing from it.

"I won't support you in this," Ozpin told him. "I won't help you kill yourself."

Ozpin considered his next words carefully. "But… neither will I stop you. I can see that you've already made your choice and as your Headmaster, I am obligated to respect it.

"So I will. Pass Initiation tomorrow and you're in. I'll make whatever arrangements need to be made for your condition afterwards."

Jaune tightly closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he whispered without turning, unwilling to look at either of their faces, and then took his leave without another word.

Ozpin turned to Glynda, and seeing the long expression on her face, attempted to make light of the situation. "With how my luck's been lately, he's probably going to make it." He said and then chuckled. "He didn't even wait for us to dismiss him. I doubt he'll give the Grimm the chance to kill him."

"Yeah…" Glynda found herself hoping, even though she knew better.

"Who knows?" Ozpin asked. "Maybe he'll prove us wrong."

* * *

 **A/N: Absolutely astounded by the turnout for this story. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I'd say you all get a cookie, but decided on this long chapter instead.**

 **Next (next) Update, Chapter 4: Nascent Cooperation, is slated for March. (Sorry this one was kind of late. It was originally supposed to be released by Valentines Day, but work and a car accident that totaled my car kept my mind preoccupied for a little while.) Of course, once I got back into the swing of things I wrote too much. So, I decided to post a half of the second chapter now while I finish the rest for next weekend. This also works because it keeps the chapter from being obnoxiously long, which is sometimes annoying if you're reading on the app.**

 **Once again, PM if you have any questions about the story. Follow, favorite, and/or review if you like what you're seeing. Feedback is always appreciated.**

 **I'm also looking into commissioning a deviantart (or other such) artist for an official cover for the story. So, if anyone is interested, or has some suggestions regarding the artist, PM me.**

 **(Specifically looking mainly for color, inkers, 3D digital, or charcoal artists).**

 **Till next time!**

 **For Your Reference:**

 **A Bestiary is a treatise written about creatures of myth that deals with how one should morally treat them. It seemed like something that would fit into the world of Remnant.**

 **DNR = Do Not Reply**

 **About Weiss… I don't hate her (in fact, I quite like her a lot). She's a character of great complexity who approaches Beacon having never considered anyone an equal (as she looks up to her sister Winter, and down upon just about everyone else). This is probably due to a lack of what might be considered typical social contact, a character flaw brought on by her circumstance, and not her personality.**

 **About Ozpin... I thought about every RWBY story I have read up to this time and it has become overwhelmingly apparent to me that everyone seems to believe that Ozpin is someone that is utterly incapable of doing anything but seeing the best in his students. And while I am inclined to agree with that impression, I couldn't help but wonder how he would react to a student that even he can't acknowledge due to their lack of physical and/or aura-based capacity. I don't think that he could cheer on a student like that. He wouldn't be so petty as to force expulsion upon them for some apparent misdemeanor, but he wouldn't go out of his way to support them either and he would make himself abundantly clear on that matter.**

Teaser:

The action begins...


	3. Divergent Paths (Incomplete)

**You've got me feeling like an animal—**

 **Beat down, in fear, and paralyzed.**

 **You've got me feeling like I have no other hand to hold**

 **In this assisted suicide.**

 **—Let You Down. Poison the Perish. Seether.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Divergent Paths (Incomplete)

Jaune rose hours before sunrise the next morning and began his daily routine.

He dressed in silence, as everyone around him was still fast asleep, putting on a pair of light sweats and strapping his scroll tightly to his right bicep where it would be out of the way. He also equipped the blackened metal pauldron in which _David_ was sheathed onto his left shoulder. He wasn't sure whether or not it was acceptable to openly carry a pistol in what was basically a school, so he decided to err on the side of caution and left _Goliath_ in his bag.

Jaune shrugged, it wasn't like it was necessary for most of his exercises anyway.

He grabbed his shoes and mindfully kept them in his hand as he tiptoed over the bodies of his snoring classmates to the door which he opened and closed behind him with nary a sound. The fresh chill of early morning air greeted him on the other side, a welcome comfort that always helped get him in the mood for his exercises.

Jaune breathed it in and out deeply, tossed his shoes onto the ground, and slipped them on without bothering to untie them. Then he started to explore the campus at a light jog, using the main courtyard with the statue as a reference point from which to base the relative locations of every notable building around it so that by the time he had completed his fifth lap and had begun to fatigue and slow, he was reasonably sure that he'd be able to locate a majority of his classes based on the name of the building alone. With that, he decided to take a pause along the walk that ran parallel to edge of the southern cliff not far from where the air ship had dropped him off yesterday.

He looked past the edge, out over the city of Vale, and into the horizon where the sky grayed as first light dawned upon the new day. It never failed to amaze him how much the world seemed to change when it was just a little brighter.

Farther up in the sky, the fragmented Moon of Remnant was in the late waning stages of its crescent period. It would likely be full tonight in every sense of the word as for a few hours, everyone on this hemisphere would be able to glimpse the Moon as it had been before some ancient calamity had ruined it. A rare sight, as the Moon's rotation was seldom coincident with its lunar cycle.

Jaune quite liked the Moon as it was now, however. It was incomplete and broken, and yet it somehow managed to remain brilliant all at the same time. Tonight it would be at its best, just as he had to be today.

When the spectacle finally lost its novelty, Jaune returned to the main courtyard and settled in an open grassy area between a pair of tall columns that held up an archway that was, as far as he could tell, only there for decoration. A part of him—the part his teacher had drilled into him—briefly assessed whether there was a kind of strategical advantage to be had in them and found that the only purpose they might serve was if they were collapsed. The slabs were thick and wide enough that if they were arranged in an oblong "U" formation, they might make for a decent firing position. If they were placed on an area of higher elevation than that of some hypothetical aggressor's.

He snorted. _As if anyone would be stupid enough to attack this school_. He imagined that there were people out there, people who benefit from the strife the Grimm cause in the world, who wouldn't mind if Beacon were wiped off the map like many huntsman academies had been before they were overtaken by the _Grimmlands_. Though the reality of such a thing happening here was something else entirely.

He sighed. _It's also something that doesn't matter right now._ _Come on, time to get to it._

Jaune took a deep breath as he centered himself, setting his feet shoulder length apart and bending slightly at the knees. Then slipped into the fluidic motions of the first kata Cort had ever shown him. Its name was _Acceleration_ and that was fittingly what it was about. The moves and various transitions started out relatively slow, but for each circuit that that Jaune completed, his speed increased two-fold so that by the time he had reached the last _Acceleration_ he was capable of—the S _ixth_ —he was moving so fast, tearing apart imaginary enemies with sharp movements that almost seemed to produce their own afterimage.

He didn't bother attempting the _Seventh_ today as he normally did. He would need that energy and mental fortitude for Initiation—whatever that entailed at Beacon. He figured it was probably some live-fire exercise in a loosely controlled test setting.

Instead, Jaune focused on the babbling falls of the fountain, unsheathed his sword, and let everything else go.

He let the wind carry his sword, if that made sense, as he danced about the terrain that decided where he went. This kata was the most natural of any he had learned, yet it always felt the most unnatural to him when he performed it. Cort had called it _Serenity_ , the Fourth, but it has many names. The goal of it was to reach a state his teacher and his teacher's teachers had called _mind zero_ —a kind of perfect clarity that allowed for high levels of unilateral concentration that would give Jaune near-perfect control over his own body.

In theory, that is. Jaune had only ever achieved a degree of control that was only somewhat better than what he was normally capable of. Perfect clarity was still a distant fantasy to him at this point. It would likely take him many years to even glimpse Cort's level, and so he practiced.

And practiced.

And practiced… for the day he might need to be perfect.

* * *

The onlooker who had been watching him for the better part of an hour now hummed appreciatively. She personally wasn't the sort of person that was into the whole finesse thing, being the physical powerhouse she was. But she could respect the kind of effort it took to reach of the level of performance that Jaune practiced at. The way his lithe form glistened with the sweat of his efforts was no issue either.

 _No siree._

"Nice moves, Blondie." She purred when he was off balance in a rather complicated position.

"Gah!" Jaune tripped and flopped onto his back, his grip on the state of nothing wretched violently from his semi-conscious mind.

Her dulcet laughs filled the air as she walked over to his downed body and offered her hand to him. "Here."

Without thinking, Jaune took it and allowed himself to be pulled up. All thoughts of the sword he had left on the ground fled his mind as his eyes fell upon the color of danger—deep lilac.

"Hi!" the girl waved, despite the uncomfortably short distance between them. "I'm Yang!"

"Jaune," he replied dazedly.

He hadn't taken much time to examine her before. Yang was an exotic sort of beauty. She had golden blonde hair like him, but unlike his own it was wild, free, and prideful. Her rather large… chest seemed to be on the verge of bursting out of her orange low-cut tank top, which did little to conceal the athletic form beneath it. The black shorts she wore were no better, and showed off a more than generous portion of her voluptuous legs.

"Is my name," he said after about a minute of gawking. "My name is Jaune."

Yang smirked at his goofy response and chuckled even more at his obvious attempts to reboot his mind. "So I've heard. My sister wouldn't stop talking about you yesterday."

"Your… sister?"

"Ruby." She clarified.

"Oh…" _You look nothing alike at all!_ "Well that explains… stuff."

"You're the first friend she's made here," Yang said in all seriousness. "I hope you understand how much that means to her."

"I uh… do. I do. It's… important to me too."

"Good!" She exclaimed and then stroked his cheek teasingly. "Then you… and I…" She muttered sultrily as she drew ever closer and Jaune couldn't stop his eyes from closing expectantly.

"Should have no problems at all," she breathed hotly into his ear.

Before he could say anything in turn, she pushed him back and ran off.

"Catch you later, _lady killer_!" she called over her shoulder, voice dripping with irony as Jaune stood there slack jawed, utterly unable to string together a single thought.

 _What the Hell just happened?_

* * *

By the time Jaune returned, the scene within the ballroom had changed vastly as most of everyone had woken up and seemed to be heading in the same direction. He quickly retrieved his things and followed them to a long room filled with rows of lockers. Farther toward the back, he noticed a sign pointing out where the showers were and made his way there.

He was surprised to find that only a handful of his classmates had elected make use of the facilities.

 _Maybe everyone's too nerved to worry about hygiene,_ Jaune supposed as he shuffled past a bunch muscle-bound teens in various stages of undress. He found a small half-locker in a forgotten corner of the dress room and stashed his things in it after rummaging through his pack and pulling out a pair of clean underclothes and a bath towel. Then he entered one of the many unoccupied showers and slid the privacy curtain shut.

Jaune stripped and kicked his clothes over to the far corner of the shower, where they were less likely to get wet. He turned the knob on the shower only little, just so the water was cold, but not so cold that it was frigid, and stepped in without pause.

A tingly numbness enveloped his body and Jaune basked in it, the sensation triggering a kind of euphoric response not unlike that which follows an adrenaline surge. However, even as his senses sharpened and his nerves electrified, Jaune's attention turned inward.

 _Initiation_ , he thought, closing his eyes to apply shampoo from the dispenser on the wall to his hair.

 _This is it. The day I've spent so much time and so much effort training for. Cort gave me his blessing—which is as good as him saying that I'm pretty much guaranteed to pass—but even I can't help being nervous in this atmosphere._

He recalled the looks on the faces of the people he had gone out of his way to avoid on the way here. He had seen the fear and the eagerness shone equally in all their eyes. Not one of them had deigned to underestimate the trial they were to face, nor had any allowed themselves to be cowed by it.

They were resolute… like him.

Jaune smiled a little as a warmth rose within him. It felt nice to be a part of something. To bear a single reality with others. Maybe he didn't personally know all of the other kids in his class, but there was little doubt in his mind that at the end of the day, all of them were cut from the same mold as himself.

 _Only they've actually got a chance to make it in this world_ , his thoughts turned ruefully. The pained grimace that came to his face held a sense of resentment in it that disgusted him.

And yet, he could never stop feeling it. That feeling of: _If only I had been born normal, I could truly be like them. Maybe then_ …

There were so many possibilities. Too many for any of his ignorant classmates to realize just how good they had it.

He shook his head, banishing such cancerous thoughts from his mind.

 _No. I don't know them. But if they're anything like me, they have their own issues and they've already faced dire straits to get here. Sure, it's unlikely that any of their circumstances are as… fatal as my own, but it can't be helped._

 _And I wouldn't wish my own fate upon anyone else._

What it had done to his family alone had been enough to convince him of that.

Jaune cut the water off and let out a long breath. "It's not your fault," he whispered to himself again.

Yeah, if only he could believe that.

"Would all first year students report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation," Goodwitch's voice came loud and clear over the intercom. "Again, all first year students, report to Beacon Cliff _immediately._ "

"Oh, come on!" Jaune cursed.

* * *

He was still sopping wet when he arrived late to Beacon Cliff in full gear, interrupting whatever scripted speech Ozpin and Glynda were making to butter the first years up for the test.

A tall boy with brown hair that had some sort of golden bird carved into his breastplate snickered at Jaune's appearance as well as at the stern looks his tardiness elicited from the Headmaster and his Deputy. Everyone else remained silent, though Jaune noticed that Ruby had a question in her eyes as he stepped right up beside her to take his place on the last available launch pad.

 _'What happened?'_ she mouthed to him.

 _'Later.'_ He replied, directing his attention to Ozpin.

The Headmaster sighed and took a sip of the dark blend in his mug. "As we were saying…"

"Each of you will be given teammates— _today_ ," Goodwitch helped him.

Ruby let out a restrained whimper.

Ozpin's brow twitched. "Yes, that's right. These teammates will be with you for the rest your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.

"That said," the man went on, flashing a sly grin at all of the inductees, "The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

There was some commotion at this as many of the others down the line turned to one another and made silent pacts sealed with a concurrent nod. One lit up with an uppity 'Told you so!' and playfully slapped the arm of the guy next to her. Ruby's expression turned to one akin to shock.

" _What!?"_ she burst out.

Ozpin paid her no mind and simply resumed. "After you've partnered up , make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way," he advised them. "Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

Jaune tensed. Ozpin had been looking right at him when he said that last part. Not that it mattered, as he never really had the choice of whether or not to go all-out.

The Headmaster said more but Jaune listened to it with only half an ear, noting only the significant details and committing them to memory.

 _Abandoned temple at the end of some path._

 _Relics. One per pair._

 _Return._

"Are there any questions?"

Jaune shrugged. It seemed simple enough.

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Everyone assumed their ready stances, drew their unique weapons, and primed their dust for use. All except Jaune, that is. He reached into a long slit underneath each of his arms and drew out a pair of tight, flexible sheets, the ends of which he anchored to small hooks on the underside of his blackened leather vambraces. He held his arms straight out to his sides and then up to flex the wings, prepping them for flight.

"Wooow…" Ruby gawked, too distracted to register what her sister launching right then meant with regards to her. "Are those..?"

 **THWANG!**

Her screams as she was catapulted headlong into the air were so priceless that Jaune almost laughed purely for the humor of the situation.

 _Almost._

But with a concentrated effort, he held himself back and made certain he was ready when his platform was triggered.

Going solid ground to suddenly high up in the air with plenty of forward velocity was something Jaune instantly knew he hated. Remaining oriented under the onslaught of the air that resisted him was no easy task, but he managed. He also somehow remembered to wait until just after he had reached the apex of his flight trajectory to implement his wings.

Jaune silently thanked Cort once again for all the sadistic teachings and brutal lessons that had kept him alive up to now before his body jerked as the air caught him and seized enough of his downward acceleration so that he more or less glided over the Emerald Forest. Then he used the bird's eye view his altitude granted him to scan the ground below.

The canopy was as dense and green as the forest's namesake indicated and there were hardly any gaps in it where he could safely land. The only obvious one was near a wide ravine where he could just make out the shape of some ancient structure, but it was far out of his range.

He eventually spotted a suitable clearing toward the western end of the forest and shifted his weight slightly to steer himself that way, all the while remaining vigilant. He suspected that he wasn't the only thing that frequented these skies. There had to be some birds—crows, ravens, and other such vultures—and the occasional air vehicle, though what most concerned Jaune was the glaring lack of Nevermore.

He knew from his experience and his studies that Nevermore were _very_ territorial, especially as far as their own airspace was concerned and he was almost certainly in one's airspace right now.

By some providence of luck, it never showed itself and he was able to make his landing without the need for some fancy evasive maneuvers that would have made touchdown much more unpleasant. As it was, he did his best to cancel out the remainder of his forward velocity by broadening the angle between his wings and the incoming air, which caused him to gain a couple lances worth of altitude when he was just above the ground.

As he fell back down, Jaune squatted slightly so that his legs provided a cushion against his downward momentum and then planted his hands at the exact moment of the impact, propelling himself into a forward roll through the tall grass.

He came to a stop and remained on one knee as he stretched his awareness about his surroundings. Feeling that he was alone, Jaune quietly detached the narrow hooks from his vambraces and then unsheathed _David_ in dagger form to sever his wings. But as he went to cut the second, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

Jaune's hand darted to _Goliath's_ grip, whipped out to his side, and opened fire on the menacing red eyes that had come to lurk about the tree line. Many of the shots actually met their mark, even though he hadn't even turned his gaze on them yet.

 _Out of the frying pan and into the fire,_ Jaune mused, extending his sword to the Grimm.

 _What else is new?_

* * *

"Yang!"

Ruby Rose had to find Yang. Everything depended on it. Her time at Beacon would suck if her older sister was not at least on her team. No one aside from Jaune and the Blake girl the night prior had seemed inclined to treat her with any semblance of respect.

 _Blake certainly didn't seem like the 'secretly-not-shy' girl Jaune made her out to be._

Ruby winced and sped up. "Yaaaang!"

If anything, the girl had been mysterious and intense for the sole purpose of distancing herself from others so that she could contently read her books somewhere on the periphery of everyone's attention. Blake hardly even made eye contact with either her or her sister during their conversation. At one point, Ruby could have sworn the girl had continued reading again after telling them she would only do so after they had left.

 _Somehow I don't think I'd be able to hold a conversation with her on my own._

"Yaang!"

 _And Jaune… Jaune…_

"Yaa—"

The cracks of far-off gunfire followed by explosions cut her off. She stopped and took a moment to listen. The sound seemed to be coming from all around her as it diffracted off every tree it came in contact with and interfered with itself again and again.

Ruby focused, shutting her eyes and dulling all other senses aside from her hearing as she had been taught by her Uncle Qrow, who had been her tactical scouting instructor at Signal. It took a while but, little by little, she filtered out the false echoes until only the iteration closest true article remained. The noise eerily reminded her of _Ember Celica_ , though it was a bit off, the shots sounding more like loud pops rather than the booms she was accustomed to hearing from her sister's shotgun gauntlets.

 _Maybe the forest's doing something weird with the sound_ , she supposed, though it bothered her. She had employed the technique to the word of Qrow's teachings and still the sound hadn't lost enough of its distortion to be just resolved.

She shook her head. That didn't matter. She had found Yang and it sounded like her sister was still alone apart from the Grimm in her way.

Ruby's hopes rose. They would be partners. Maybe Yang's friends from Signal would become hers too. Everything would be awesome.

Ruby's cloak warped around her as she triggered her semblance and disappeared in a flurry of rose petals toward her sister and her salvation.

* * *

It didn't take her long to arrive. Jaunts like this one that only stretched across a few hundred lances were relatively easy for her compared to everyone else. After all, speed was deeply tied to her being and generally didn't consume too much of her aura reserves when used without the secondary piercing effect of her semblance.

The sounds were clearer to her now, but not in the way she had hoped. Ruby frowned. The bittersweet aria of a sword punctuated by some kind of small arms fire and explosions permeated the air around her. She knew instantly that there was no way this was _Ember Celica_. She hadn't found her sister. She had found someone else.

Ruby crouched, unslung _Crescent Rose_ from her lower back, pulled its stock back, and popped up the scope. Then carefully crept through the thorny brambles, keeping low so that she didn't cause a loud break in the fragile brush above. She passed through to the other side and let the tall grass of the clearing she'd entered conceal her presence as she instinctively made her way to a decent firing position beneath the overhanging roots of an ancient tree.

It was only when she rose to one knee above the grass that she saw him.

Jaune was… She hadn't ever seen anything like him before.

The way he fought was as beautiful as it was merciless—bearing a kind of delicate grace borne of a mechanical efficiency that left no enemy unscathed.

He back flipped away from the wide slash of a _Beowolf_ while simultaneously twisting in mid-air and firing a tight burst of explosive dust shot into another charging at him from his side. Then he landed, rolled forward beneath the first _Beowolf_ 's staggered legs, and stabbed his sword backwards through its back and into its cold, black heart. The monster dispersed in a shower of black flecks of nothing and Jaune took off running from the rest of the pack.

The pack gave chase, though to Ruby's surprise, it didn't seem like the _Beowolves_ were all that much faster than Jaune, who glanced back at them to pick at their legs and joints with surgical precision. He reached a tree on the far side of the clearing and suddenly slammed his sword flatly into its rough bark.

Ruby listened, mouth agape, to the hum of the death knell that emanated from his blade. It vibrated in his hand at hypersonic speeds, though Jaune hardly seem to notice it as he turned to face down the _Beowolves._ She half expected them to grind their clawed feet to halt and scramble away in the other direction, but they remained on course. One of them let loose with an ear-splitting roar in challenge that made the hairs on the back of Ruby's neck stand up.

But Jaune kept cool, taking a measured step towards them as he fired right into the eyes of the frontmost one, blinding it for good. It tripped up on its own feet, causing the two trailing behind it to stumble, and that was when he struck, lopping off each of their heads with a single cut.

The three remaining _Beowolves_ adjusted their course to flank him, but Jaune would have none of that. He primed something on his pistol and fired the loudest shot Ruby had ever heard from such a small weapon at one of the _Beowolves_ as it was in mid-pounce. Instead of being minorly inconvenienced by the shot, the monster exploded in rain of chunks of decaying black ooze as the twin rods on the sides of Jaune's pistol glowed red from the intense heat within the smoking barrel.

When the other two _Beowolves_ came at him all at once, Jaune sidestepped around the one charging from his right with ease and bisected the creature for its foolishness. Then he flipped his pistol over in his hand so that he held it by the end of the barrel and spun, narrowly avoiding the sharp teeth just about to sink into the soft flesh of his neck. Jaune savagely brought the heavy end of his pistol down upon the top of the _Beowolf's_ neck and followed through, levelling the monster and shattering its atlas as he hammered it into the ground.

It remained still for a moment, its eyes almost looking panicked to Ruby through her rifle scope as it desperately tried to move itself with limbs it could no longer control. Jaune ended its misery—if the Grimm had the capacity for such a thing—with a curt plunge of his sword through the _Beowolf's_ skull, and it too departed from the world to join the rest of its brethren in hell.

Jaune leaned on the pommel of his blade, panting as he stood in place. His brow as matted with sweat and though his outfit had torn in some places during the fight, he appeared untouched. The lone warrior closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then his gaze inexplicably turned toward Ruby and their eyes met.

And from that moment on, their fate was sealed.

* * *

Pyrrha held _Akoúo̱_ out in front of her and channeled some of her aura into a flexible barrier that was dense enough to make the face of her shield flash red before impacting the first tree. Then, with a meticulous shift, she straightened herself just before the second and easily plowed through the third as well. After which she threw her weight forward, angling her descent down upon the wide branch she had selected for her landing.

It was as strong as she had assessed, hardly shifting at all as she somersaulted to break her fall. Pyrrha rose, morphed _Miló_ into its rifle form, and peered through the magnification sights out over the forest. As far as she could tell, most of everyone had landed besides the winged boy and some blonde chick blasting through the air off the immense power pushed out of her gauntlets.

Pyrrha considered her options. She could very well leave things as they lay. Just fall down into the forest and keep scouting until she found somebody. Then again, on one hand, the boy had seemed the lonely sort when she had glimpsed him in the Amphitheater. They had something in common in that they were both outsiders despite the fact that they were warriors forged by the same fire that had brought everyone else to Beacon. There was a chance that he might even be able to understand her and, if his skill with a blade was as good as his perfect stance had shown her, he might even be a challenge.

On the other hand… _Explosions could be fun_. Pyrrha grinned and then her expression turned thoughtful.

 _Fun…_

Wouldn't that be nice?

Decision made, she nodded to herself and shot off from her spot just as the brawler descended below the forest canopy.

* * *

"Hello?" she called out, dragging out the final vowel to bait the monsters around her. "Is anyone out there?"

Yang _tsked_ as if disappointed by the silence that answered her and continued on. On the fringe of the path, a dark figure blurred past and, for some reason, decided to split off in another direction.

Perhaps it figured that Yang was the complete opposite of what they wanted from a partner. Maybe it was considering pairing with a friend that they could confide in who already knew their secret. Maybe their sharp ears picked up the fast approaching gladiatrix and raw instincts drove them to flee.

Whatever the reason, a deep and powerful partnership that had been fated to happen never came to be. Though thankfully, neither of them knew that.

Such is the blissful unawareness that keeps all mortals sane in a world of possibilities.

"Heloooo?" Yang came to a stop and threw her arms up in the air. "I'm getting bored here!"

Then there was a subtle rustling and she turned. "Someone there?"

She approached the brier the noise had come from in manner that was more curious than concerned, and knelt down to look inside. "Ruby," she wondered, "is that you?"

 **Grrhhhhhhhh…**

"Nope."

Yang dove out of the way as the _Ursa_ charged forward with a roar, its massive claws arcing downward for her throat. She popped to her feet out of a forward roll a decent distance away and pumped each cylinder of _Ember Celica_ , extending its metal foreguards and priming it for use. Then her eyes widened as she noticed another _Ursa_ a lance length away from barreling into her and she strafed, firing a slug from her right gauntlet into its gut while dodging to the side.

The _Ursa_ charged right through where she had been, its maw missing her by less than Yang might have liked. She landed on her toes and scanned the area around her. A third _Ursa_ stood on its hind legs by the first and let out a primal roar.

 _Three's a bit of a crowd_ , Yang thought edgily, though she found herself flashing an eager smile at them. She squared her feet and put her hands up in a classic slugger stance.

When they each charged at her again, Yang was ready.

She delivered a powerful right cross to the first's center and the force of the aura burst she'd gathered in her knuckle coupled with the contact blast of the explosive dust from _Ember Celica_ sent it reeling into the second, causing it to delay its attack which left her time to deal with the third. She took two quick steps toward it and met the monster head on, jumping up to throw her weight behind a savage uppercut that cracked the Grimm's skull mask. Then she sent it back with a snappy kick while she was still in mid-air.

The second was upon her by the time she landed and she was forced to fall back having used up a majority of her momentum.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?" she taunted.

The _Ursai_ only growled in response and started at her again.

"You could just say no," she sighed, wheeling back to avoid a high swipe right into the waiting arms of a fourth _Ursa_.

She might have slowly looked up at it right then and made another quip like a weak 'heyyyy you…' had the predator not already started squeezing the life out of her.

 _This is no longer fun_ , she sulked, eyes turning red as she let her anger, her pain, and her fear out and gave into her semblance.

Yang's body was set alight in a fiery orange blaze that startled the Grimm holding onto her, making it all too easy for her to break its grip. Though the _Ursa_ quickly regained its senses and moved to crush her under the full weight of its lumbering mass while the other three _Ursai_ had approached and were enacting their own attacks, as uncoordinated as they were.

She used that.

Yang hopped a short distance into the air and blasted her gauntlets behind her, launching herself headlong into the _Ursa_ in front of her. She reared her dominant right fist back as she rocketed forward and slammed it right beneath the bear imitation's snout. The _Ursa's_ own forward momentum coupled with the perfect timing of the strike she delivered loudly snapped its head back at an awkward angle and as Yang continued forward, her trajectory hardly disturbed in the slightest, the creature slumped over where it stood and slowly started to evaporate.

The energy that possessed her urged her to keep her motion going. To remain a constant, undeniable force. To be something without vulnerability, without mercy, and without limits.

She rebounded off the rough bark of a tree toward her next target and ruthlessly deployed a devastating combination to similar effect. A right cross to the jaw, which she followed through on and then swiftly ducked beneath a swipe and followed up with a left jab to its sensitive snout, momentarily stunning the creature and leaving it wide open for a finishing right uppercut to the underside of its mouth that blasted its skull mask to shreds.

Yang almost found herself laughing then. This power… This feeling it always gave her was so intoxicating, and yet it left behind an emptiness she could never seem to fill.

 _Why can't I be like this all the time?_

She was rudely brought back to reality when one of the _Ursa_ scored what might have been a deep slash along her lower back had her aura not protected her. Yang's snarled and immediately mule kicked back into the gut of her attacker, diverting a significant amount of her semblance's newly gained power into that single blow.

The result was exactly as she had intended, if not a little more damaging for the poor _Ursa_. Its abdomen was caved in enough to make standing very difficult and continuing on in this futile fight impossible. Which left only one _Ursa_ to oppose her.

The last was not an older Grimm. It was still many decades away from attaining the level of intelligence, mass, and spiny bone armor that would deem it an _Ursa Major_ in the eyes of the people of Remnant and it fell as easily as you might expect the last insect of a great hive perishes in a flood.

Helpless and alone against the might of the torrent.

The final monster finished, Yang paused and let herself cool down. She closed her eyes breathed deeply in and out until she felt her heartbeat return to normal. When she opened her eyes again, they were lilac and full of the same playful exuberance they'd had in them before.

She didn't notice that the injured _Ursa_ had managed to find its feet until it was almost upon her. Even then, she never had the chance to react as a golden spear cut through the air above her shoulder and plunged itself into the _Ursa's_ eye and out the back of its head.

Yang turned to regard her defender and found Pyrrha, _the_ Champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, crouched atop a tree branch, arm still extended from throwing her weapon. The eminent girl smiled back at her and hopped down from her perch.

"Hey," the girl said sheepishly, finding herself suddenly nervous now that they were on level ground. "I'm Pyrrha."

To which Yang cracked a grin and said, "I'm Yang. Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao Long."

"That's quite the name," Pyrrha chuckled as she came up to Yang and held out her hand.

"Yeah, I know right?"

Yang took her hand and they shook, giving life to a new partnership the likes of which the world had never intended to happen.

They would find in time that this… deviation would not come without its own consequences.

* * *

"Oooooh!" Ruby gushed as she fawned over _Goliath_. "This is sooo cool!"

Jaune nodded quietly, closely examining the scythe-rifle hybrid in his hands before using it to cut a wide swath through the foliage in their way.

" _Crescent Rose_ is pretty cool too," he told her. "You said you designed and built it yourself?"

"Yep!" she piped up. "All students at Signal forge their own weapons. I just… might have gone a little overboard on mine." She muttered.

He hummed in acknowledgement and then pulled back the slide, looked inside, and hummed again, this time in appreciation. "Gravity dust shot with bits of air crystals peppered in for that extra league. I'm also not wrong in assuming that each shot continues to accelerate even after leaving the barrel, am I?"

Ruby went to reply but found talking difficult through the wide grin on her face. Then she blushed when she saw him looking at her oddly after the silence had dragged on for a while.

"Nope," she squeaked. She tried her best to level her voice, having only marginal success, bringing her pitch up from mousy to shy puppy. "A-after a while though…"

"All dust has limits," he said impassively, as if he were reciting something important, yet too commonly known to be possible to forget.

She nodded. " _Crescent Rose_ is pretty accurate from about three leagues out as it takes a little more than half a minute for all the air crystals to burn off. Though my chances of hitting a moving target at that range are not very good." She frowned contemplatively. "I honestly haven't tested myself any farther than half a league."

"And how many do you make from that distance?" he asked.

"About three in five," she said, a slight lilt of pride creeping into her voice. "One less if the target is tricky like a _Creep_."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Three in five?"

"Yep."

He stared at her for a long moment. The look in his eyes, which had come to focus almost solely upon her, made Ruby begin to feel anxious, though she didn't know why. There was nothing outwardly wrong about the way he was looking at her, and yet there was something there that she couldn't quite peg down that gave her pause.

It reminded her of something. Something old. Something she'd forgotten. Something that had always been just beyond her reach.

But before Ruby could remember anything, her partner suddenly put a hand on her shoulder and pulled them both down low to the ground.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "No. What is it?"

He pointed over her shoulder and when she moved to turn, he held her firmly in place.

"Listen." He admonished.

She did.

The chilling wind of the light breeze that swept from north to south whispered in her ear and leaves rustled ever so slightly in the canopy above them. She focused harder and detected a hint of something below the ambient noise, a deep rumbling that was far too rhythmic to be human.

There was no mistaking it. It was a Grimm of some kind. A big one. It was doing that thing Grimm do when there's nothing around for them to hunt. _Idling_ , Ruby recalled after a second. It was idling because Grimm do not rest. Do not sleep. They don't need to. They don't have aura. They don't have a soul.

"Do you hear it?" he asked after a while.

"Yeah."

"What do you think?"

She quickly told him and Jaune regarded her quietly. "I agree. I'm thinking _Ursa_ _Major_ or a mature _Nevermore_ , which means we can't get any closer without triggering its awareness. It'll almost certainly sniff us out or pick up the sound of our movements."

"So what do we do?" Ruby asked.

He held _Crescent Rose_ out to her and they exchanged weapons. "I'd rather avoid it, to be honest. But if anyone else makes too much noise around it, it'll become fully alert, and we might well end up facing it anyway."

"So why don't we try to get the jump on it?" she proposed. "If it ends up being a _Nevermore_ and we rush it together while it's still grounded, we might be able to kill it."

"Somehow I knew you were going to say something crazy," Jaune muttered. Then his expression turned serious. "If we rush it, it'll become aware that much faster."

Ruby grinned back at him. "If we're fast enough, that won't matter."

"I take it you're fast?"

"I'm not slow," she replied with a wink.

"Okay…" Jaune sighed. This girl reminded him too much of his sisters. "What if it's an _Ursa Major_ or something complicated like a _Taijitu_? What's your plan then?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment and shook her head. "Same plan: We rush in. We kill it. Simple." She declared.

"Oh, well that's all good then," Jaune said sarcastically.

There was no way this was going to work.

* * *

 _Remember your training, Weiss:_

 _Head up. Shoulders back. Right foot forward—not that forward! Slow your breathing. Wait for—_

The Grimm didn't wait— _King Taijitu_ rarely do—and she was forced to jump back to evade. Weiss landed on her toes, firmly planted her heels, and cycled ice dust into _Myrtenaster's_ chamber. Then she mentally projected white _Attraction Glyphs_ along the twin-headed serpent's body and cast her rapier in a broad ark, imbuing the glyphs with a cold adhesive potential as the _Taijitu_ deftly slithered through the trees to surround her. Weiss ignited the glyphs with an effort and ice burst from the serpent's body, hindering its movements.

Seeing an opportunity, Weiss leapt forward using a fragmented _Attraction Glyph_ as a mid-air stepping stone to bring her to the black _Taijitu_ head's level and executed a quick double thrust through its left eye. The serpent let out a murderous hiss and snapped at her with its massive fangs as she continued running through the air on temporary platforms of her own making, cutting at its neck and body.

The white half's head suddenly came up from beneath her and Weiss let her intuition guide her reaction as she simultaneously rose to a higher platform and cut diagonally between the ridges of its skull mask right above one of its eyes. That was the only weak point these things had that she could recall. If she had a longer weapon and others to back her up, she might have been able to pierce its heart through its relatively soft underbelly, but there was no one around and she hadn't ever trained with any other weapon besides _Myrtenaster._

It was the only weapon she had ever needed and she doubted that such a thing was going to change any time soon. If she lost this fight, it would be because her own ability to adapt and overcome was not good enough. That she, of all people, was found wanting just as so many others in similar situations have been before her.

Weiss refused to believe that she was like them. She wouldn't ever fall to such odds. Giving up, running away… The thoughts never crossed her mind.

Her icy blue eyes narrowed. _I'm going to crush this snake._

She dropped down onto the white head, a move the serpent evidently hadn't prepared for as its instinctual reaction was to jerk back and then violently rock its head to shake her off. However, its efforts were useless against the _Attraction Glyph_ Weiss had cast at her feet. It ensured that she remained firmly in place, like a piece of errant static tape that, no matter how hard you shake your hand to remove it, just refuses to unstick itself until more direct force is applied.

The black half recognized this and charged forward to avail its counterpart of the pest hacking at the gaps in its armor, but Weiss had already prepared for that. She cast her blade outward, blasting a palpable wave of intense heat in the black half's face and it recoiled back, hissing loudly in pain as the flames came into contact with its lidless eyes, leaving Weiss free to resume her wanton assault on the one she stood atop.

She released the Glyph holding her in place and stepped onto another she had positioned closer to one of the serpent's eyes. She knelt there, cycled lightning dust into _Myrtenaster's_ chamber, and created an _Attraction Glyph_ at the front of the eye cavity before her. Then turned back and, with a brief effort, casted a _Repulsion Glyph_ in front of the other before thrusting her sword straight into the serpent's eye and pulling the trigger.

The effect of this combination attack was truly profound. The _Repulsion_ and _Attraction Glyphs_ , which were charged with lightning dust as per Weiss' designs, acted as nodes for a powerful electrical current that surged through the serpent's brain, utterly frying its nerves, and back before bolting into a coincident tree with a boom that echoed for leagues in every direction, setting the forest on fire.

Weiss smirked as she felt all of the white half go limp beneath her and almost casually hopped to the forest floor when it had its head fallen most of the way down. She looked up at the black half, an incomplete half now. Its eyes burned with a crimson fury as it bared its fangs and its body posture was tense with a bloodlust that the serpent could barely contain.

It found itself wanting something more than darkness in that moment. Something more than causing strife and breeding the fear that it fed upon.

It wanted retribution… and it was going to get it.

Something changed then in the _Taijitu_. Something Weiss was unable to recognize or notice because of her general inexperience in fighting Grimm. Her knowledge of them had stemmed from texts and from what little advice her sister Winter was able to offer her in the regular letters they exchanged. She had trained herself against advanced automatons and, on rare occasion, some of Winter's more humanoid summons. None of them ever had mates. Nor had any of them had emotions, let alone such an overwhelming drive to kill.

It approached cautiously, slithering in a spiral about its prey and exerting a lot more effort than it would have were its mate still alive. Weiss turned with it, pointing her rapier and waiting for it to make the first move so she could spring her next trap. By the time it had drawn close enough that she could have stricken the serpent in a handful of bounds, she was completely surrounded by its body. Normally this would have been a concern for her as constriction was one of many methods _Taijitu_ employed to kill, but without the second half to double the rate at which the slack tightened, it was much too slow to be much of a threat to her.

And just when she'd thought that, the _Taijitu_ struck. It came at her at a steep angle, but its attack was much less straight than the others, more lateral. Something Weiss failed to notice as it neared the ice trap she had set within a prism of charged _Attraction Glyphs_. She smirked as she triggered and watched as an enormous spike of pure ice shot out of the ground.

The fight was over, or so she had thought. It might have been had she not missed.

Although that's not entirely accurate. It would have been more true to say that the serpent had evaded it and, in the same movement, crashed itself purposefully into the ground beside her. There was a brief hush then as Weiss realized her mistake too late.

The _Taijitu_ tensed every muscle in its body, stretching itself out so fast that Weiss never had the chance escape being crushed between the serpent's neck and the body it had surrounded her with. Her breath left her in a single gasp and she struggled with all she was to draw in another to replace it, but none was to be had. She couldn't the concentration for a single Glyph, and _Myrtenaster_ had left her hand at some point.

She was without a weapon, without power, and alone. She shed the first tear she had in a long time as she realized that warrior, heiress, Weiss Schnee, or not; she was only human. Just as mortal as those who had come before her.

A candle that could be blown out in a wisp…

"Away from her!" a distant voice yelled.

…Or perhaps a fire just as easily stoked by the presence of another.

* * *

Their eyes had met before he even began his attack and their fate too, was sealed. Nora would never forgive him for this. Ren knew that. Just as he knew that she wouldn't have ever forgiven him had he left this girl to die.

 _I guess I never had a choice_ , he sighed.

Ren sprinted at the _Taijitu_ , yelling some more to get its attention. That snake had been doing too good a job crushing his would-be partner, and that was something he had to stop immediately. He pointed _Stormflower_ in front of him and opened fire on the serpent, for all the good that did. The Grimm hardly reacted, too absorbed in exacting its vengeance to care. This discouraged Ren, but did not sway him from continuing to be nuisance as he stabbed _Stormflower's_ sickle-like under-blade between the _Taijitu's_ scales, eliciting an audible hiss from the serpent, but nothing more.

Ren spared a glimpse at the girl and saw that she was already unconscious, if not dead already. Although he doubted that the Grimm would have allowed him to do all he had with hardly any protest were that so. It was with that reassurance the Ran vaulted atop the _Taijitu's_ body and ran along it to the head.

From his angle only one of its eyes was visible, and not much of it either. The serpent had smartly nestled itself into the underside of its own body.

 _But that's not going to save you_.

Ren dove forward into the small gap the _Taijitu_ had been unable to bridge and stabbed each of his blades with the full force of his aura behind them into the serpent's eye, and with that, he finally had its attention.

The _Taijitu_ rose faster than any he had fought before, releasing his partner from its clutches in the process. For whatever hate had been in its eyes when it had looked up Weiss, what burned there now as it looked at its denier was something much worse. Ren thought about checking to make sure she was still breathing, but found that he had no such time to do so as the serpent came at him with everything it had.

It attacked without concern for its own being, smashing into the ground repeatedly in desperate bid to crush Ren before he had a chance to blind it entirely and render it completely helpless. Ren didn't let it. He kept in constant motion, evading each attack with a momentum that kept building up until the Grimm couldn't keep up anymore, and from that point on, the fight was over.

Ren sprinted up its body and instead of going for its working eye, he went for the one he had destroyed and emptied each of his clips into the opening in the matter of seconds. There was another hush as this Grimm died, its life's purpose unfulfilled.

After it had fallen, Ren stepped off its head and bounded for the girl. He held a hand out before her nose and felt a reassuring breeze there. It was stronger than he thought a girl in her shape capable of and he noticed now as the adrenaline wore off, that her aura was already hard at work in healing what damage there was.

There was a sudden rustling from behind him and he turned to see Nora standing there, the expression on her face one he hadn't seen since they were both children.

"Nora! I—"

"Save it, Ren." She cut him off with a despondent voice. She began to cry as she looked at them. Then shook her head to drive away the tears and without another word, turned away and receded back into the forest.

It was the shortest conversation they'd ever had.

* * *

 _"Got a visual?"_ Jaune tapped out onto his scroll.

 _"I see it._ Ruby sent back. _"Nevermore. Big one."_

She sent him an image of it using the linked camera built into _Crescent Rose's_ scope and he saw that she hadn't exaggerated. It was easily one of the largest he had seen, which meant that it was rather old and that it had not been triggered in many Initiation exams before this one. He told Ruby as much.

 _"All the more reason we should kill it now."_

He knew she was right. In time this thing would reach the level where a dedicated party of experienced huntsman would be needed to take it down. But that time was still a few decades away. Instead of telling Ruby that, however, Jaune sent, " _Okay. Come back here and we'll discuss strategy."_

That was when the crack of nearby thunder split the air.

 _The hell?_ Jaune thought.

Then something occurred to him and he tried to contact Ruby. There was no response.

 _What was she—?_

There was no sense thinking about it. He already knew. Whatever that was had triggered the _Nevermore_ and Ruby had charged in to deal with it alone.

 _Without telling me_ , he grit his teeth and ran towards the initial sounds of commotion.

He got there just in time to watch the thing take off for the skies with Ruby hanging on for dear life to the top of one of its wings.

 _Perfect._

* * *

Current Word Count: 9096

* * *

 **A/N: Hello all! I have just got to say thank you. Thank all of you guys so much. Your reviews, favorites, follows—your support—means the world to me. I hope that this chapter is good enough to repay you all.**

 **I modeled the action after how Monty always sequenced his own: quick and intense, with small breaks from reality here and there to make each fight stand on its own.**

 **Next update, Chapter 4: Nascent Cooperation, is slated for April. You can check my profile page for story progress if you ever find yourself wondering how much longer until the next chapter is released.**

 **This chapter was originally finished for that weekend I had specified, but reading over it bothered me. The teams were made, and yet I had dedicated such little time to how and why the particular partnerships were formed. I also felt that it was a little devoid of detail, so I spruced that up a bit and added some more insight into the kind of person this Jaune is. I know not meeting a deadline, especially one so specific is a bit of a foul when it comes to these things, but I feel that if I had left it as it was, it would have been an even greater offense to myself, my work ethic, and most importantly, you.**

 **I will finish the rest of this chapter (the longest I have ever written) in the coming week, adding the other sections (there are about 3-4 more) over the next few days. I also feel I should clarify that everything posted in this chapter will not change as I add more sections. There will be a few surface edits and some edits for mechanics and the like. Nothing more. What you see is already a part of what will be the finished product.**

 **Thank you all for waiting patiently for this chapter to be released. I'm sorry you have to longer for me to finish it.**

 **Once again, PM me if you have any questions about the story and show your support by following, favoriting, and/or reviewing the story. Every bit of encouragement helps and feedback is always appreciated.**

 **Still looking for a Deviantart artist to commission for the cover. PM me if you have any suggestions as to the artist. Also PM me if you have the ability and are interested in taking the commission as well. I am willing to pay a fair sum to anyone who can bring to life the image I have in mind.**

 **(Charcoal, inkers, colorers, and 3D digital artists preferred.)**

 **Till next time!**

 **For Your Reference:**

 **Kata = a series of training exercises generally associated with a specific martial art.**

 **About Yang… I hope she doesn't come off as slutty or anything like that. She's a big sister, who also happens to have a kind of alpha female personality… when things are going her way. She only tends to show vulnerability when they're not. This is especially so when whatever is wrong is something outside of her control. This causes her to feel helpless, which is something she hates/despises, as it makes her think back to that time as a child that she nearly got herself and Ruby killed.**

 **About Jaune's wing-kit… I thought about this a lot and it seemed like the only landing strategy really available to him besides straight-up base jumping the cliff. Which yeah, that would have worked, but I don't think he would have landed anywhere near anyone else if he had gone with that strategy instead of allowing himself to be launched and improvising from there. (It also wouldn't have been very original.)**

 **About Ruby… I don't have much to say on this. I think I did an okay job capturing the essence of her character. My only explanation as to why she just watched as Jaune decimated the _Beowolf_ is that she was too awed by him and by his weapons to do anything at that moment. There's also the fact that Jaune hadn't ever given her a reason to intervene. He had maintained control over himself, his enemies, and the environment throughout the fight. Ruby may be a young, innocent, and impressionable girl, but a warrior would be able to see that the fight was his to win.**

 **About idling… I don't think that Grimm are creatures that rest. They seem to constantly roam Remnant, though I figure there are Grimm in certain remote areas that probably don't do much moving at all because there's not enough negativity in any particular direction for them hone in on. Thus they idle and lie in wait for adequate prey.**

 **About Weiss' section… I've read extensively and have discussed at length with others what I think her semblance is capable of and how it works in conjunction with her rapier, _Myrtenaster_. In this story, Weiss' Glyphs are mental energy/aura projections crafted with intricate fractal patterns that give rise to a particular effect. The two that Weiss has shown herself capable of _on her own power_ are Attraction (White) and Repulsion (Black) Glyphs. **

**Attraction here is not to be misconstrued with Pyrrha's ability to charge an object with her aura and manipulate it. It can serve as either a positive or an inertial force. By this I mean that she can direct the attractive force by orienting the Glyph or by how much power she charges the Glyph with. A very powerful attraction Glyph can stop an object or an enemy flat in place, while a weaker attraction Glyph can slow them down or, if contact is brief enough and the Glyph oriented in just the right way, accelerate them in a particular direction with an added force that becomes cumulatively stronger the more attraction Glyphs that are applied.**

 **Repulsion Glyphs are a lot more straightforward. They act as a counter force to something. For example: extreme heat. A repulsion Glyph could repel an explosion, although the intensity of an explosion will increase the amount of power she needs to imbue it with. An enemy's momentum can also be reversed in this way, but this is not all that practical in single combat because she needs an enemy to impact the Glyph in order for it to have an effect, and it takes time, planning, and effort to make a repulsion Glyph than an attraction Glyph. Her main use of these in combat is often in conjunction with attraction Glyphs as she can use it to mass accelerate a projectile by sending the projectile back and forth through several layers of attraction Glyphs sandwiched by two repulsion Glyphs (Think of the effect in _Portal 2_ if you spread the paint that made you bounce really high on the floor and ceiling above you). **

**Like Blake can charge her shadows, Weiss can charge her Glyphs with certain kinds of dust. She is able to channel this dust because the attractive nature of her white Glyphs makes them practically eager to assume an element beyond its base characteristic (nature abhors a vacuum). The reason as for why the elemental Glyphs burst with whatever she charged them with instead of just fading out of existence as the plain attraction Glyphs do is because of the latent energy of the dust she uses. When Weiss "ignites" a Glyph, she is actually dismissing it, and allowing the stored energy of the dust to explode outward. In this story, I assume that she is capable of manipulating the dust/energy that is released in some form or another through mental control/intent as the energy that is released originates from one of her Glyphs, which are tied to her by aura, and thus fall under her semblance's power.**

 **It goes without saying that the summoning aspect of her semblance is a part of what an attraction Glyph can do when designed and powered properly as it is simply pulling at something that may or may not exist outside of reality and imbuing it with enough power to exist in the real world for a little while. The ties between the summoner and the summoned are based on aura and are thus subject to mental control.' It also stands to reason that if Blake can charge her shadows with certain kinds of dust, then Weiss should be able to incorporate dust in her summons as well.**

 **If a Glyph were to be impacted by a force greater than that powering it, Weiss can receive a painful feedback response. This is why her Glyphs generally have a built in countermeasure that makes them self-destruct (turn red and disperse) if they are overpowered. Not including this countermeasure in some of her Glyphs (such as the incomplete/temporary ones she uses for air-running) allows her to cast them more quickly.**

 **Check back later for more!**


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